Combined running and guard rail

ABSTRACT

A combined running and guard rail for high speed rail ground transportation having a center running rail and inner and outer guard rails on opposite sides of the running rail and vertically overlapping and normally spaced from ends of a flanged wheel on the running rail. By limiting lateral movement of the adjoining wheel in either direction, the guard rails and those of the counterpart rail at the opposite side of the track cooperate to prevent the flange of either of a pair of axle-connected wheels from riding up on the adjoining running rail under excessive lateral forces developed at high speeds. Grooves in the combined rail between the running and guard rails limit contact of the wheel to the running rail in normal operation over the range of permissive wear of the running rail.

United States Patent 11 1 Bingham 1451 Sept. 4, 1973 COMBINED RUNNING AND GUARD RAIL [76] Inventor: Sidney H. Bingham, 109 E. 35th St.,

New York, NY. 10016 [22] Filed: Jan. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.1 222,165

[58] Field of Search ..238/l723, 148, 12 2, 127, 143-147; 104/242, 1 A; 188/62; 105/216, 217

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 429,470 6/1890 McGieham 238/17 477,713 6/1892 Trapp 238/17 934,784 9/1909 Alden 238/17 1,042,221 10/1912 Hansen 238/17 3,311,304 3/1967 Becker et a1.. 238/17 1,535,626 4/1925 Parker 238/17 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney-Wilmer Mechlin [5 7] ABSTRACT A combined running and guard rail for high speed rail ground transportation having a center running rail and inner and outer guard rails on opposite sides of the running rail and vertically overlapping and normally spaced from ends of a flanged wheel on the running rail. By limiting lateral movement of the adjoining wheel in either direction, the guard rails and those of the counterpart rail at the opposite side of the track cooperate to prevent the flange of either of a pair of axleconnected wheelsfrom riding up on the adjoining running rail under excessive lateral forces developed at high speeds. Grooves in the combined rail between the running and guard rails limit contact of the wheel to the running rail in normal operation over the range of permissive wear of the running rail.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures COMBINED RUNNING AND GUARD RAIL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The inboard flanges on the wheels of a railway vehicle are designed to hold the vehicle on the track against lateral forces to which the vehicle is subjected in service. However, at high speeds of well over 100 miles per hour, such as contemplated for the Metroliner run between Washington and New York, excessive lateral forces are developed particularly in rounding curves, under which the flange of an outboard wheel tends to ride up on the running surface of the outboard rail with consequent loss of lateral control and derailment. To solve this problem, it has been proposed, as in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,830, to provide a railway car with guide wheels running on and acting laterally against opposite sides of a separate guide rail or, as in the patents to Baldwin U.S. Pat. No. 934,784, McManama U.S. Pat. No. l,343,00l and Becker et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,31 L304, to replace conventional rails with combined running and guard rails having outer guard rails engageable with the outer end of a wheel on the running rail for limiting outward movement of the wheel. It is to an improved combined running and guard rail for high speed rail service that the present invention is particularly directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved combined running and guard rail having guard rails hold the both sides of the running rail for so limiting lateral movement of a wheel in either direction as to hold wheel against derailment from the running rail and in the case of a pair of axle-connected wheels distributing lateral forces thereon between both rails of a track.

Another object of the invention is to providean improved combined running and guard rail wherein guard rails at opposite sides of the running rail vertically overlap and are normally spaced from opposite ends of a wheel on the running rail for engagement therewith only in limiting lateral movement and upwardly opening pockets at opposite sides of the running rail normally limit contact between a wheel and the combined rail to the running rail over the range of permissive wear of the running rail.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionwill appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FlGURE DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the improved combined running and guard rails of the present invention showing the normal relation between the guard rails and a wheel on the running rail, and

FIG. 2 is an elevational view on a smaller scale taken across a track formed of a counterpart pair of the combined rail of FIG. 1 and showing thereon a pair of axleconnected wheels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved combined running and guard rail of the present invention, designated as l, is particularly designed to replace standard or conventional I-cross-section rails in track used for high speed service.

The improved combined rail 1 has a central or middle running rail 2 and outboard or outer and inboard or inner guard rails 3 and 4, respectively, on opposite sides of and laterally spaced from the running rail. As in the illustrated embodiment, the preferred combined rail 1, for the intended use for high speed ground transportation, is adapted for conventional laying or mounting on a suitable roadbed on ties (not shown) and for the purpose includes a base mounting flange 5 and a vertical supporting web 6 integral with and upstanding from the base flange and supporting or mounting thereabove the running guard rails 2, 3 and 4.

The running rail 2 has a head 7 integral with and surmounting and overlying the web 6 and on the head a crowned upper or running surface or tread 8 for engaging the beveled tread 9 of a conventional flanged railway vehicle wheel 10. Spaced laterally from and extending longitudinally parallel to the running rail head 7, the outer and inner guard rails 3 and 4 suitably are formed as upstanding or vertically disposed upper flanges or legs of outer and inner guard rail members 11 and 12, respectively. Rigid and preferably integral with the rail head 7 and supporting web 6, the outer and inner guard rail members 11 and 12 have horizontally disposed lower legs or webs 13 and 14, respectively, instanding from the lower ends of the guard rails 3 and 4 and connecting the latter to the web suitably through the running rail head.

The outer and inner guard rails or flanges 3 and 4 are of such upward extent and so laterally spaced relative to the running surface 8 or a wheel 10 thereon as to vertically overlap and normally be spaced from opposite ends 15 of the' wheel and present to the usual flat surfaces 16 thereon correspondingly flat inner bearing, engaging or movement-limiting surfaces 17 extending longitudinally parallel to each other and the rail head 7. Since the inboard flange 18 on the wheel 10 extends below and the wheel's outer end is disposed above the running surface 8, the vertical overlap between the adjoining wheel ends 15 and the outer and inner guard rails 3 and 4 is obtainable without requiring the guard rails to be of the same upward extent. Thus, it usually will suffice for the inner guard rail 4 to be substantially coterminous upwardly with the top of the running surface 8, while the outer guard rail 3 necessarily extends thereabove.

Contact in normal operation of a wheel 10 not only with the guard rails 3 and 4 but also with the rail members l1 and 12 as a whole over the efiective life of the rail head 7 is avoided by providing in the rail members at opposite sides of the rail head 7 and therebetween and the adjoining guard rails a pair of upwardly opening grooves or channels 19 extending longitudinally parallel to the rail head. Each of the grooves 19 is of sufficient depth and so contoured or configured as to receive or accommodate the overlying part of the wheel without normal contact therewith over the range of permissive vertical wear of the rail head, the lower limit of which is indicated by the horizontal dot-anddash line across the head.

Constructed in the above manner and ordinarily laid, as shown in FIG. 2, with a counterpart or duplicate rail as the opposite side of the particular track, the improved rail I normally will engage or contact the wheels 10 of railway vehicles (not shown) running thereon only through the rail head 7, with outboard lateral movement of the wheels relative to the rail head restrained only by the wheels inboard flanges 18. However, under excessive outboard forces, such as developed in rounding curves at high speeds, the resultant tendency of the inboard flange 18 to ride up on the rail head 7 brings into operation or play the outboard guard rail 3 by engaging the flat inner surface 17 thereof with the confronting flat surface 16 on the outer end of the wheel. The contact between the outer guard rail and wheel usually will be only momentary but regardless of the duration will effectively limit further outboard movement of the wheel and produce a counterforce for restoring the wheel to normal running or operating position on the rail head.

Conversely, inboard movement of a wheel relative to the rail head, such as induced by inboard lateral forces on an inner wheel of a railway vehicle rounding an outside curve, brings the inboard guard rail similarly into play and, by engagement of the confronting flat surfaces 17 and 16 on that rail and the inboard end of the wheel, prevents further inboard movement of the wheel and restores it to normal position on the rail head. Also, by imposing definite limits on both horizontal and vertical angling of a wheel relative to the rail head, the outboard and inboard guard rails will restrain fish-tailing or swiveling of the wheel and the railway truck (not shown) of which it is a part and lifting of the wheel from the rail head under forces such as result from track irregularities.

The restraining action of the inner guard rail 3 on inboard movement of the adjoining wheel 10, while available for independently journalled wheels, is most important when that wheel is the inner of a pair of axleconnected wheels of a vehicle rounding an outside curve at high speed. Under such conditions, on prior actual or proposed mainline rails having raised or above ground heads, inboard movement of the inner wheel and outboard movement of the paired, outer or opposite wheel are both resisted only at the outer wheel by engagement either of its flange with the adjoining outer rail head in the case of conventional rail or of its outer end with the guard rail in the case of prior combined rails having outer guard rails. Thus required alone to resist the lateral thrust produced in the wheels by the lateral and particularly centrifugal forces on a vehicle, an outside rail of either of the above prior types can be overturned with disastrous consequences when the forces are excessive. This possibility the improved combined rail 1 avoids by its inner guard rail 4 which under like conditions causes the lateral thrust to be taken by or distributed between both rails.

The improved combined rail 1 in its preferred integral form can readily be rolled to shape and, like conventional rail, is adapted to be laid either as jointed sections or as continuous rail in accordance with more modern practice. The supporting web 6 desirably is somewhat thicker than that of a standard rail designed for supporting comparable vertical loads, with the thickening applied inwardly of the vertical line, indicated in dot-and-dash in FIG. 1, through the point of contact between the rail and wheel treads 8 and 9, for increased bending resistance to the usually higher outboard forces to which it will be subjected in service. Even so, the combined rail 1 is compatible with standard rail and, except for cross-overs for which its guard arms 3 and 4 are unsuited, can either form an entire track or, for economys sake, be combined with standard rail and limited to track sections, such as curves, where excessive lateral forces in high speed service are likely to occur. With the addition of the guard rails and thickening of the web, the combined rail 1 is expectedly heavier than standard rail of comparable vertical loading. Thus, as a replacement for a ll5-pound standard rail, and with relative dimensions as in the illustrated embodiments, the combined rail would be 92.9 pounds heavier and weigh 207.9 pounds/yd.

Not only the weight of the combined rail, but the end or lateral clearances between the guard rails 3 and 4 and a wheel 10 will depend on the requirements of a specific Railroad for the particular track. The end clearances of course must be sufficient to prevent contact in normal operation between the guard rails and any wheel running on the running rail 2 and the spread or lateral spacing between the inner surfaces 17 of the guard rails therefore will be determined by the maximum thickness of the vehicle wheels for which the particular track is designed. However, with this minimum limitation, the end clearances should be as small as practicable for the guard rails to operate most efficiently in holding a wheel against derailment from the running rail and for a standard 5% inch thick passenger car wheel a clearance of about /4 inch at each end of the wheel ordinarily will suffice for both purposes.

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved combined running and guard rail which in having both outboard and inboard guard rails for limiting lateral movement of a wheel in either direction on the running rail, is well suited for high speed ground transportation. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A combined running and guard rail for high speed ground transporation, comprising a running rail, and outboard and inboard guard rails on opposite sides and rigid with and laterally spaced from said running rail, said guard rails vertically overlapping and being normally spaced from and engageable with adjoining ends of a flanged vehicle wheel on said running rail for so limiting lateral movement of said wheel in both directions relative to said running rail as to hold said wheel against derailment therefrom and prevent a flange of said wheel from riding up on a running surface of said rail without interfering with normal movement of said wheel thereon.

2. A combined running and guard rail according to claim 1, including a base flange, and a web integral with and upstanding from said base flange and thereabove mounting said running and guard rails, and wherein a head of the running rail overlies and said guard rails are laterally offset from said web, and the several rails-are integral with each other and said web.

3. A combined running and guard rail according to claim 2, wherein each guard rail is an upper leg of a guard rail member, and each guard rail member has an instanding lower leg connecting the lower end of the upper leg thereof to the running rail head.

4. A combined running and guard rail according to claim 3, including a flat inner surface on each guard rail confronting and engageable with a flat surface on an and said head, and each groove being of such depth and so configured as to accommodate without normal contact an overlying part of said wheel over the range of vertical wear of the head.

l l t l 

1. A combined running and guard rail for high speed ground transporation, comprising a running rail, and outboard and inboard guard rails on opposite sides and rigid with and laterally spaced from said running rail, said guard rails vertically overlapping and being normally spaced from and engageable with adjoining ends of a flanged vehicle wheel on said running rail for so limiting lateral movement of said wheel in both directions relative to said running rail as to hold said wheel against derailment therefrom and prevent a flange of said wheel from riding up on a running surface of said rail without interfering with normal movement of said wheel thereon.
 2. A combined running and guard rail according to claim 1, including a base flange, and a web integral with and upstanding from said base flange and thereabove mounting said running and guard rails, and wherein a head of the running rail overlies and said guard rails are laterally offset from said web, and the several rails are integral with each other and said web.
 3. A combined running and guard rail according to claim 2, wherein each guard rail is an upper leg of a guard rail member, and each guard rail member has an instanding lower leg connecting the lower end of the upper leg thereof to the running rail head.
 4. A combined running and guard rail according to claim 3, including a flat inner surface on each guard rail confronting and engageable with a flat surface on an adjoining end of a wheel on the running rail, and upwardly opening grooves in the guard rail members at opposite sides of the running rail head and therebetween and said guard rails, said inner surfaces and grooves extending longitudinally parallel to each other and said head, and each groove being of such depth and so configured as to accommodate without normal contact an overlying part of said wheel over the range of vertical wear of the head. 